A Conversation with Cindy McCain

Good Housekeeping's editor in chief, Rosemary Ellis, sits down to discuss politics, family, and the country with Cindy McCain

Many of us have heard the same details about the life of Cindy McCain, wife of John McCain, the Republican Party's presidential nominee: that she grew up in a privileged family; that she met and fell in love with her husband as his first marriage was ending; that she overcame an addiction to painkillers as well as a near-fatal stroke. But we had the opportunity to get a more personal glimpse inside her world when Rosemary Ellis, the editor in chief of Good Housekeeping, recently sat down with her in New York City. In this exclusive interview, Mrs. McCain talks candidly about what makes her marriage tick, why she doesn't want to be a superwoman anymore, the cause that's closest to her heart  and the one thing she believes all voters must know about her husband.

Rosemary Ellis: So tell me, what qualities of your husband's first made you fall in love with him?

Cindy McCain: Oh gosh, his humor, his intelligence, his wit, his charisma. I mean, when I met him, I had been committed to not dating anymore. I was tired of it, and I, it just....ugh.

RE: Tired of dating at 24?

CM: I was  I really was. It had just been, you know, frat boys  all that kind of stuff and I just was tired of it. I thought, "Well, I'm just going to worry about my career now and just kind of take a break." That lasted two months: I met him two months later, and it was everything about him. I mean, he's remarkable! He's a remarkable man. He had wit, charm, intelligence, and he was so well read. And he was interested in me. He was very interested in hearing what I had to say, and I hadn't found that in too many other people.

RE: After 28 years of marriage, what quality attracts you to your husband now that maybe wasn't the first thing that attracted you when you first met?

CM: Still his intelligence, his wit, and his humor. The longer we're married, the better it gets. He's remarkable at things, and I still love everything about him to this day that I did then.

RE: OK, let me ask you this: You have three adjectives to describe your husband and yourself. What would they be?

CM: Let's see...He's tenacious, he's humorous, like I said, he's very lovable also. About myself I think maybe I would say  sometimes cautious. Very nurturing. And I think also a little bit tenacious myself.

RE: Please finish this sentence: The secret to a happy marriage is...

CM: Patience and honesty. I really mean that. You have to be patient, you have to be open, and you also have to be available for criticism, too.

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